Strong
by Bookworm557
Summary: Hermione's friendship with Ron Weasley is in trouble. Upset and alone, she is found by Draco Malfoy, and old prejudices are slowly abandoned and the relationship between the pair takes an interesting twist. But Draco is battling his own demons, and with the war raging & taking victims on both sides, it won't be long before loyalties are tested and relationships start to crumble.


Strong

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Author's Note: This is my first D/Hr story so I hope you enjoy, and if you do, feel free to leave a review, I'd love to hear what you liked about the first chapter.

Chapter One

For as long as she could remember, books had been her refuge; the one place she could escape the harsher realities of life. Growing up, lonely and without friends, they provided her with a means of escape, and when she discovered she was a witch, they gave her an opportunity to discover everything she could about an exciting new world. When she left the comfort and love of her parents in order to join this world of witches and wizards, the school library became her first friend. From first year, when she struggled to make friends amongst her peers, through to the present, where she is currently in her sixth year, the library was the one place she could go to sate her thirst for knowledge, and her wish for comfort. It is for this reason that, despite the fact that the rest of Gryffindor house were busy celebrating their Quidditch success, Hermione Granger was sat very much alone, feebly trying to wipe away the tears streaming down her face. It had felt as though someone had Stupefied her. Seeing Ron and Lavender so obviously together had crushed her, it had taken all her will power not to burst into tears when Harry sought her out after she fled the common room.

"_Ron seems to be enjoying the celebrations." _

"_Er . . . does he?"_

Any other time and it would almost have been funny, Harry's awkward attempts to comfort her, he was so clearly out of his comfort zone; however, any chance there would have been for Hermione to have a shoulder to cry on and a heart to heart with her best friend went out of the window when the very two people she was avoiding stumbled across them.

"_Oh"_

"_Oops!" _

Lavender's laughter combined with Ron's refusal to even look at her infuriated her, and before Hermione knew it, she had shrieked _'Oppugno'_ before hurrying from the room, knowing that she would not be able to fight tears any longer. And so she headed for the library, knowing at this time of night, and on a Saturday, there would be very few people there, if any. Having been there for half an hour already, Hermione knew that she should think about heading back to her dorm, but the thought of coming face to face with Lavender stopped her. They had never gotten on, Lavender preferring the company of Parvati ever since the night they were first Sorted and the pair preferred to gossip amongst themselves, leaving Hermione alone with her books when she was not with Harry and Ron. Embracing her inner Gryffindor, she wiped away the last of her tears and slowly rose to her feet, before turning and meeting the cold glare of Draco Malfoy.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was going to die. He was sure of it. The task the Dark Lord had given him was impossible; there was no way he was going to be able to kill **Albus Dumbledore** for Merlin's sake. He'd even bribed that idiot Harper to play as Seeker during the Quidditch match so he'd be able to work on the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Hidden Things but nothing he tried was working. He was becoming increasingly more desperate; while his house moped over their Quidditch loss and the younger years blamed Draco for this loss as a result of skipping the match, he was panicking. Eventually he had enough of listening to Pansy drone on and he made his escape, heading up to the library, hoping he could take out a few books that would help him begin to fix the Cabinet. He entered the library and was relieved to see there was no-one else there; the last thing he needed was for someone to interrupt him while he was busy. As he headed over to a section of Charm books, he heard a muffled sob coming from the back of the library. Intrigued, he followed the noise, hoping it would be a first year he could torment, allowing him to vent and reduce some of his frustration. As he got closer however, he soon recognised the source of the noise, it wasn't a first year at all, but the Mudblood, Granger.

She hadn't seen him yet, she was too busy wiping away tears. 'What could have upset her?' he thought to himself, before he realised he didn't care. This girl, this creature went against everything he believed in, everything the Dark Lord believed in and he hated her. Almost as if she sensed she was being watched, she wiped away her tears and rose to her feet, halting when she turned and realised he was there. She looked terrible, tear tracks stained her cheeks and her eyes were red from crying for so long. His eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to tell her what a fright she looked but she interrupted.

"Whatever you're going to say Malfoy, don't bother. I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now." She said, before moving to walk past him. Draco, however, reached out and grabbed her arm, halting her movement.

"Not so fast Granger. I simply wanted to know who upset you; I must remember to congratulate them." He sneered, looking down at her. She met his glare with one of her own, but Draco could see in her eyes that she wasn't in the mood to argue with him. Normally, a verbal sparring match with the Mudblood would be guaranteed to cheer him up, provided Potter and the blood traitor Weasley weren't around; they were always so quick to fire hexes but with Granger, he enjoyed himself, a light would enter her eyes and she would come alive, always so quick to argue with him. Not like tonight, he could see in her eyes she was closer to falling apart rather than standing proud and holding her own in an argument. In spite of his feelings towards her, he found himself growing curious about what could have upset her here, safe in the castle. "Boyfriend trouble?" He smirked when she yanked her arm out of his grasp confirming his suspicions. Potter or Weasley had upset her then. Not that he cared. But he'd been so busy lately he'd not had time to torment Granger like he used to, if her own friends turned on her at least he wouldn't have to put some effort into putting the Mudblood in her place.

"None of your business, Malfoy." She snapped, before storming out of the library, her troubles with Ron temporarily forgotten. Shaking his head, Draco smiled briefly to himself before the smile faded, his attention once more returning to the troubles of his own. As much as he enjoyed messing with Granger, he had a job to do.

* * *

So that's the first chapter! Next chapter Draco and Hermione run into each other again and actually managed to have a conversation without hexing or yelling at each other. Feel free to let me know what you thought of this first chapter, I'll post the second chapter over the next few weeks!

Thank you,

Bookworm557.


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